And the 12th Best Super Bowl Champions of All-Time Are...

As voted by NFL Network's Blue Ribbon Panel, the 1998 Denver Broncos were voted the 12th best Super Bowl Championship team of all-time. I was hoping the Broncos would crack the Top 10 but when the 1987 Giants were #13 (a team only slightly less dominant than the Bears before them) I knew this team's time was coming up. Plus we the 60's Packers, 70's Steelers, 80's 49ers, 90's Cowboys, and 00's Patriots (although no Patriots team would've beaten the 98 Broncos, Rod Smith would've Blow'ed Up) still on the board.

In the week leading up to their NFL Network special, I will pass on some memories of that season (not the Broncos team that beat the Packers and made me well up, this is the season AFTER), and my year (the one NFL season I lived at 920 Ackerman) watching this team.

Championship Sunday Picks

I know I'm a little late in the game to be making NFL picks but just to put it on record, here are my picks for Sunday's games.

New Orleans over Chicago- New Orleans, while playing in a dome, has a team built for cold weather. They can run the ball with McAllister (this game has no fantasy implications so he should come up big again) and Bush (wouldn't want to have the podium next to him on Media Day). Drew Brees is up to the moment, and I'm not sure if the Bears can say the same for their Quarterback. This should be a tight game with enough mistakes to depress you about either team's chances in the Super Bowl and the Saints becoming the story Saints 20, Bears 13

New England over Indianapolis- File this under "Have to see it to pick it". Everything on paper says Indy should jump out big in the First Quarter at home and force a "just not right" Tom Brady to force throws and make mistakes, but if that was expected to happen, it would've happened before. By the way, the Boston media is playing "the no one nationally is picking us" angle AGAIN. In truth, its 50-50 but six years of the "disrespect" card has driven me to drink living here and I know I'm doomed for TWO MORE WEEKS of it. Patriots 28, Colts 27 Vinateri MISSES the Game Winning Kick

Pizza Parlor KeriAnn Checks In...

Kelly Pickler was on The View today...This is the best day ever!
-My sister, who needs to get out of the house more

I'd ask her what Rosie O'Donnell thought of her, but like most of America, I don't give a shit what Rosie O'Donnell thinks.

Paul Harris and SU Basketball

While I usually don't, and don't need to follow college basketball until after the Super Bowl because it means nothing for major conference teams to be playing well at THIS point in the season, it should be noted that our Syracuse Orange are very unimpressive 14-4. Their most impressive win is against Marquette on the road and they stumbled in their only two non-conference challenges and laid an egg against Drexel.

Super Freshman Paul Harris hasn't had the impact many thought he would but neither he nor Coach Jim Boeheim are frustrated.

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama announced yesterday he that he is forming an Exploratory Committee regarding a 2008 Presidential bid. And as Ross Perot taught us some 15 years ago, no one forms an Exploratory Committee to tell them NOT to run. Obama is the only African-American in the Senate, and is currently in his first term. He is a mortal lock to win the Democratic Nomination and has been since his electrifying Keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which I enjoyed, even while disagreeing with every word. He has a charisma and ability to give the same old liberal message in creative terms (e.g. "Paris Hilton tax cuts"). As long as he distances himself from the Democratic Congressional Leadership, who have no vision other than the embarrassment of George W. Bush, he should be able to mobilize the Democratic base and independents like John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton had before him.

I'm not saying I'm voting for him, but he is more intriguing than any Democrat has been to me in my lifetime.

His weaknesses are his name (although he can defend this by saying he no more supports terrorism than John McCain makes great frozen french fries), his inexperience and a memoir written in 1995 in which he openly admits to marijuana and cocaine use as a young adult.

Dennis Kucinich also announced plans to run for President. He has absolutely no chance.

Shut the F*** Up!

Keith Olbermann

Another Sport to SUck at...

The Syracuse Post-Standard is reporting that SU is seriously considering fielding Division 1 Men's and Women's Hockey programs.

The idea is being met with enthusiasm from the handful of NCAA Hockey Conferences as the current NCAA Hockey climate is populated by smaller colleges like Merrimack, Colorado College, and Bemidji State while very few D-1 Football and Basketball programs have Hockey. Plus its safe to assume a Syracuse hockey team would take their licks in their first few years as a major college program.

Jack in a Box: Day 6 6:00am-8:00am

Last night, was kind of par for the course as far as Season Premieres go, build up for tonight's HUGE surpise that will "change everything" and many who've reviewed the show in advance, say the surprise doesn't disappoint.

One fun thing about a Season Premiere is meeting the new characters, especially the one's played by character-actors. Last night we saw:

The Catcher from Major League II as a racist reacting to the day's events at every Arab-American he saw.

Cyril from Oz as an FBI agent with a warrant for the records of the Islam-American Advocacy Association.

Ms. Rod Tidwell as David and Wayne Palmer's sister and..

Kumar as an embedded terrorist who kills his friend after their family takes him under their wing following the imprisonment of random Arabs.

A lot of placating in the writing to the Arab-American groups who would protest the villians in this season who as they are every OTHER year, are Muslim.

For some reason, right now a lot of the characters names sound alike which is something I thought television writers tried to avoid but here's a clarification:

Hamir Al-Assad: Believed to be responsible for the day's bombings because his organization has repeatedly practiced terrorism but is trying to politicize his organization and befriend the West, therefore he is trying to stop the day's actions. Think Hamas.

Abu Fayed: The real bad guy, so far. Wanted Jack because he killed his brother during an interrogation in 1989 after a bombing in Beirut.

Ahmed: Kumar, is in charge of delivering a "package" for Fayed.

Weekend Playoff Thoughts

Indianapolis over Baltimore- Since Baltimore is an Eastern market playing most of their games opposite Patriots games, I really hadn't seen that much of them all season long. It does look to be the same story as every Baltimore team though. A defense with a palpable intimidation factor and a horrible offense. People had unrealistic expectations for this team thinking that Steve McNair could still lead a team to the Super Bowl at this point in his career. He can't. It looks like a game at M&T Bank Stadium is a good time, but what does "It's Time to Hunt" mean? If you watch 'The Wire' on HBO you know Baltimore's a pretty depressed city so I feel bad for them and Ray Lewis is my favorite accessory to murder in the NFL right now, but even he's on the back nine of his career.

New Orleans over Philadelphia- That hit on Reggie Bush was AWESOME! Looked like something out of a video game. Nice of Deuce McAllister to show up in a game that had no Fantasy implications. Although I guess you are supposed to show up in the playoffs for a real NFL team. So I guess he's clutch TO THEM which is really all that matters. I think New Orleans may have looked the best out of any team this weekend and definitely has a chance next week. As for the decision to punt on 4th down, when you don't have a Freddie "Mr. 4th and 26" Mitchell, who do you have confidence in to make a play?

Chicago over Seattle- This game couldn't have worked out any better for Fox. I was in transit from New Hampshire to Framingham so my only comment is a concession that yes Fox did overpromote '24' as they overpromote everything, but I mean how many new fans do they expect to grab at this point? And wouldn't the constant plugging turn more people off than on as it did me way back in 2001 when they promoted Season One during every single commercial break during the Yankees-Diamondbacks World Series?

New England over San Diego- I should've taken a lot of pleasure in seeing one of the Broncos' Division rivals disappoint in the postseason. Just as I do the Yankees every year. But I can't, because the alternative is unbearable. Living and working here when not being a Patriots fan used to be an innocuous existence. Seeing them hover between 9-7 and 7-9 for almost forever wasn't enjoyable or loathesome it was just how it was. When the Patriots would make a random Super Bowl run, it was kind of enjoyable to see my family and friends get into football for a change, for they couldn't enough when I was growing up to sell out the games and allow me to watch the Patriots. But now every Patriots victory is some triumph of good vs. evil and outside forces all aligned against the Patriots. Someone actually told me this morning that Jim Nantz and Phil Simms "hate" the Patriots. Now that I look back I enjoyed last year's Denver victory over the Patriots as much because these people got to feel sick as it was because Denver seemed to be on the road to the Super Bowl. Now I have to pray for an Adam Vinatieri Game Winning Field Goal next week and for Manning to FINALLY overcome Belichick and Brady. And if you think that seems mean-spirited, then you haven't lived here.